Western University pilot project shows music beneficial for Londoners with Alzheimer’s disease 0

Kuyler Hauch wears a pair of headphones as he listens to an iPod in the living room of his Windermere Road home in London, Ontario on Wednesday January 22, 2014. Hauch, who has Alzheimer's disease, participated in a project wherein subjects listened to familiar songs which brought back long-forgotten memories.
CRAIG GLOVER/The London Free Press/QMI Agency

Where words fail, it’s been said, music speaks. Gerontology students at Western University tested that, giving a small group of Londoners dealing with Alzheimer’s disease iPods and music — and a chance to bring back long-forgotten memories. Carl Hnatyshyn listened in on the project and its results.

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THE PILOT PROJECT

The ‘iPod project’ was led by Western gerontology professor Alexandra Zecevic, who was moved after watching the film Alive Inside, which documented the effects of music on dementia patients. Music calms anxiety, triggers lost memories and stimulates communication, Zecevic said. It’s especially effective for those suffering from dementia.

“Some networks of nerves die out as we get older. Music has the capacity to trigger pathways that are dormant.”

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WHO

With the help of the Alzheimer Society’s London-Middlesex chapter, 10 Western health sciences students were matched with five London families with someone at various stages of dementia during the fall semester.

The students asked the clients and their caregivers about music that had touched their lives, such as wedding songs or tunes from their youth. Then they went out and raised the money to buy the iPods and the songs given to the families. After that, the students dropped by once or twice a week to monitor what happened.

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THE RESULTS

Reaction to the music ranged from singing and dancing, to broad smiles and finger-tapping, according to Zecevic. In some clients, memories were triggered by the music they’d enjoyed in their younger years — a lift for their families.

“Especially for people who have seen a loved one non-responsive for so long, to see someone come alive, it’s very uplifting,” Zecevic said.

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ONE STUDENT’S TAKE

Ashten Snyder, a fourth-year health sciences student, was among the students in the pilot project. Seeing how the clients reacted to the music was an “eye opener,” she said. But as the project wound down, Snyder said, the bond between the students and the people they studied became equally important.

“One woman was so excited to see us that she got us coffees and would make us breakfast,” she said. “She just liked to interact with people she wouldn’t normally get a chance to.”

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ONE FAMILY’S TAKE

Linda Crossley-Hauch and her husband, Kuyler, also took part in the project. Kuyler’s iPod, the students loaded up with tunes by Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion and Barbara Streisand. Linda said her husband absolutely loved the music, which inspiring him to get up and dance with her. “By listening to the music, he would look at some of our photo albums and share some of his memories with the students,” she said.

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THE PAYOFF

The Alzheimer Society:

“The program provides a new tool in terms of trying to support our clients and caregivers,” said the society’s Nancy O’Regan.

The caregivers:

“I think one of the groups (the program helps) is the home-bound caregiver,” said O’Regan. “As people progress in illness, they get into more dangerous situations at home. Caregivers don’t feel comfortable leaving somebody alone. We see this as being a bit of a respite for caregivers, too. The person with dementia is engaged, giving the caregiver a boost.”

The students:

The experience was an eye-opener.

“Alzheimer’s is something that gets a bad rap, and the program dispelled some of the myths that some of these students had,” said O’Regan.

Their professor agreed.

“It changes (their perspective) on so many levels,” said Zecevic. “You see the students going out of the classroom and making a difference in the life of a family. You can see the connection they make.”

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WHAT’S NEXT?

Wednesday, Western’s Alzheimer’s club met to discuss extending the program into the spring on a voluntary basis. Students are interested, and both the school’s club and the Alzheimer Society have applied for funding and grants to expand the program to involve more seniors, Snyder said.

Linda Crossley-Hauch was happy to hear it.

“I’m really thrilled,” she said. “It was really something nice to look forward to every week.”

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ABOUT DEMENTIA

— 500,000 Canadians live with it.

— In London-Middlesex, it afflicts more than 7,500 seniors over age 65.

— 1 in 11 Canadians over 65 has Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia.